Tous ensemble is an exhibition by ArtAids for Dak’art Off, part of the Dakar Biennale. African and European artists will work together, inspired by the subject of AIDS, with the North and South joining forces to tackle a subject that affects us all.

Tous ensemble will be held in Senegal as part of the Dakar Biennale’s Off-program on the volcanic Island of Gorée, with its painful past of slavery and liberation and the conciliatory idea that we all have the opportunity to fulfil our potential. Senegal has a very low rate of HIV infection, thanks to its consciousness-raising campaigns and practical resources.

The artists

WARU Studio, from Dakar. Short films dealing with the subject of HIV/AIDS and with prejudice in relation to HIV/AIDS patients, stigmatization, the acceptance of the illness and the creation of new values. Participating artists: Pi Niang, Fatou Kande Senghor, Aziz Cisse, Arfang Sarr, Jacky Ly and Pamphile Oudiane.

De Ondermening Collective, Belgium. A few days before the opening of the Dak’Art Biennale, De Ondermening will put on their “Prudence” performances at the Plage des sportives and gradually make their way to the Island of Gorée. “Prudence” is a brand of condoms sold in Senegal. The group will explore the creative possibilities of condoms, invite the audience to participate, and film the entire process. Artists: Boris Van den Eynden, Pauline Niks, Bas Devos and Jesse Creemers.

Lionel Mwe di Malila will make a rap video clip, with musicians. A young artist falls in love with a girl who has been infected by HIV/AIDS. The music transmits a message. The artist wrote the text and coordinated the shoot for the video clip. The video will be shown on a monitor on the ferry that goes to the Island of Gorée.

The artist Koen Vanmechelen will carry out the Cosmopolitan Chicken Project, ArtAids Section. The chosen rooster, isolated and disoriented, evokes those who discover their HIV positive status: Why me? The installation talks about the virus, stigmatization and exclusion. It includes 7,000 eggs. Since many vaccines are egg-based, the egg functions as the metaphor for a cure. On Sunday, people will be invited to taste the food prepared using the eggs. Children will participate in a workshop in which they paint the egg shells.

The ArtAids Foundation fights against AIDS through art. It invites leading artists to produce works that engage with AIDS. Art communicates: it helps make the invisible visible. It allows people to talk about AIDS. We fight the stigma. We encourage people to get tested and reduce the risk of infecting others.

ArtAids supports and promotes projects to prevent and fight AIDS, and it awards the ArtAids grant. Founded in Holland, the ArtAids Foundation has carried out projects in Holland, France, Switzerland, Thailand and Spain. In 2009, the Foundation chose Barcelona as the base for its activities.

ArtAids was created by the Dutch writer and collector Han Nefkens, owner of the H+F Collection. When Nefkens found out he was HIV positive in 1987, it changed both his life and his vision of life: time became precious, and he discovered that art could help fight the illness.

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